Editor's notebook

QUIETER EVE - While we're as much in favor of a good New Year's Eve party as anyone, we don't understand why some think the celebration isn't complete unless firearms are discharged at random into the night sky. Neither, to his credit, does Annapolis Police Chief Michael Pristoop.

On New Year's Eve, Chief Pristoop put 20 extra officers on the streets, concentrating on areas that have had reports of gunfire or violent crime. And the chief went out on patrol himself that night to keep tabs on what was going on.

The result: There were only four reports of discharging firearms on New Year's...